Talk to me about home security systems

[Lexi]

So I'm outside with my son today and notice one of the plastic casings around a basement window has a small piece broken out of it. My first thought is "oh crap it must have cracked with the cold during winter" Well looking a few seconds more I find another cracked section, then another... And I move to the next basement window and find more cracked sections and now I know this isnt mother nature. Its clear these are impact marks, some more obvious than others, one that didnt crack the plastic and just penetrate it lightly looks to me like someone has taken a phillips screwdriver and stabbed the casing. Stupid way to break into a house but good for me I guess.

I would say this is the work of kids, any thief worth their salt would have used something better (and actually tried to wedge the window open not the outside decorative casing). I live in a new house , in a nice area and just out of town so its not wandering crackheads. I suspect some local kids are up to no good, lil bastards. Its an estate lot so no fence and I have woods right behind the house.

My last house was broken into so while I'm not paranoid I am aware these things happen and want to take a base level of action. I may put in CCTV with a DVR to capture this on video should someone return but I think the best place to start is with a security system. I had one at the last house and I felt it was good enough. Door/windows were monitored and had a motion sensor in the basement and ground floor.

There's thousands of solutions whcih is a problem on its own. I want to buy a simple keypad controller box, a couple of door/window modules and a couple of motion sensors. Do I really need to go brand name like Honeywell or can I buy decent generic stuff ? I am not going to get monitoring by a 3rd party. I just want something that covers points of entry and if someone triggers the alarm then a loud siren goes off. This covers us if we're home and potentially scares intruder away if we're not. Honestly dont care if the house gets robbed if we're away cause that's what insurance is for, been there and done that. My real concern is this happening while we're home sleeping. Been there and done that too.

Also since this is DIY , I am looking at the wireless solutions. Besides replacing batteries every year any real difference in performance ? What brands and where online would you recommend ? Here's something that looks reasonable on amazon by Honeywell. Is this a decent price for what you get or too much ? How much should I expect to pay ?

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-L500.../dp/B00579YJB0

[Rockhead261]

This is my current security system:



Wireless (literally, with the optional invisible fence system). Covers the entire perimeter. False alarms at times, but very effective and pretty cool seeing solicitors jump off the front stoop and sometimes even cross the street. A bit expensive to implement and maintain, but worth every penny IMO.

[Lexi]

Nice however I have 2 kids , one is 6 months old so no dogs. I agree, would make a great alarm but not for me right now.

[unimogken]

I would go with a ADT sticker/sign kit off of ebay, the cameras you mentioned earlier and them some motion sensor lights around your place. If you have a sliding glass door you should get a door bar for it. I think they're called a "johnny bar?"

[ATL_Av8r]

Holy crap...where do you live?

[ambit]

ZModo 4 channel DVR w/ 3 night vision cams and a dome cam for the front door.

Auto records on motion, was ~$125 + some ethernet adapters.
I finally caught my mailman, that MF'er is fast


And a big dog that all my neighbors know I have.

[barry2952]

Nice however I have 2 kids , one is 6 months old so no dogs. I agree, would make a great alarm but not for me right now.

You're severely limiting yourself. There are millions and millions of people with dogs and 6-month old kids. Get a Lab, of any color. They are "soft mouth" dogs known for being incredibly gentle.

This is our cat, brand new to her environment, scared of us and our male cat. Who does she take refuge with?

We have an alarm. It is redundant.



Motion detectors are like home fitness equipment. After about a week you lose interest. There's nothing worse than jumping out of bed every time a stray cat passes through the motion detector zone. You'll switch them back to manual operation in short order. I've gotten to say "I told you so" so many times on the subject. If you think that you're going to deter some crackhead that wants your aluminum chairs for scrap, you're dreaming. Flashing lights, they do nothing.

Just did a clinic installation of LED motion detectors to protect 6 new condensing units that were stolen for scrap. I told them that the lights won't stop them from doing it again. I told them to put them on the roof of the building. They ignored my advice. The new units were stolen. Then they followed my advice and installed them on the roof. Then they stole the lights. Then they closed the clinic.

[rich!]

ZModo 4 channel DVR w/ 3 night vision cams and a dome cam for the front door.

Auto records on motion, was ~$125 + some ethernet adapters.
I finally caught my mailman, that MF'er is fast


And a big dog that all my neighbors know I have.

our cameras caught my mailman throwing our packages from the street to the door...

...and labs are great with kids/newborns - no issues here.

[Rockhead261]

You're severely limiting yourself. There are millions and millions of people with dogs and 6-month old kids. Get a Lab, of any color. They are "soft mouth" dogs known for being incredibly gentle.

This is our cat, brand new to her environment, scared of us and our male cat. Who does she take refuge with?

We have an alarm. It is redundant.

Here's more support for the "dogs are good with kids" argument....



That's me on the bed, circa 1964. Rex supervises while mom takes a break and grandma does the dirty work. This ^ probably explains why I prefer dogs over people.

[White Wagen]

I like this place. They have great customer service and lots of options.
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/

[GeoffD]

You're severely limiting yourself. There are millions and millions of people with dogs and 6-month old kids. Get a Lab, of any color. They are "soft mouth" dogs known for being incredibly gentle.

There have been a lot of incidents of "Labradors" biting young children. In most cases, it's a black dog that is misclassified as "Labrador Retriever" but it does happen.

[Tornado2dr]

Nice however I have 2 kids , one is 6 months old so no dogs. I agree, would make a great alarm but not for me right now.

I'll echo the not limiting yourself to being dogless if you WANT a dog, but I certainly understand not wanting a dog when you're already training a newborn...better to have dog first, then newborn.

If you DON'T want a dog, to train a dog, and to care for a dog....DON'T get a dog for security...you'll just end up hating each other and he will let the bad guys in for spite

[driveareliablecar]

http://www.cosmeticsurgery.com/articles/archive/an~203/

[Rockhead261]

http://www.cosmeticsurgery.com/articles/archive/an~203/

Terrible story.

Not trying to threadjack but my grandmothers German Shepherd dog (pictured above) used to herd me away from dangers like the wooden staircase and the garage. My parents have old movies of that dog watching me one the swingset while barking at anyone who dared approach the yard. I have no conscious recollection of him, but he was an amazing dog. I'm certain his imprint is why I've owned two GSD's in my adult life.

[Lexi]

I grew up around dogs as a kid, funny thing is I recall the first dog we had to be as large as a GSD yet in the pics its a tiny little Lasso or something.... that's the perspective I had as a toddler and it seemed massive to me. I've had a GSD as an adult, loved that dog. I lived in a small lowrise with him and found out after I moved that every apt in the building was broken into while I lived there... except mine even though I had a fire escape coming from behind the house into my second level apt. Not hard to wonder why.

I've just heard to many horror stories of dogs + young kids going wrong so not taking the chance. One they're 5+ there's much less chance of that "predator-prey" issue and really any dog can bite. And dunno if you have kids but I tells ya, with two young ones that last thing I want to have to do is take care of a dog on top of it all. I know I know , milliions of dogs out there and they're fine but if I don't have one then its never going to happen in my home.

I think what I"m going to get to start is a basic alarm system so if the windows are open the alarm goes off. Not much to false there. Maybe put some motion lights in the back , not so much to alert me so much as to scare off any intruders, aka stupid kids. There's really only so much you can do withotu being paranoid or creating fort knox, neither of which do I want to create.

[Lexi]

And since this thread is getting derailed:

Dog I thought was marmaduke



And my anti-theft device later in life

[barry2952]

Maybe put some motion lights in the back , not so much to alert me so much as to scare off any intruders, aka stupid kids.

They really don't work as a deterrent. If they make you feel better, have at it. Your house, statistically, is far better protected being lit all the time rather that have stupid flashing lights. If a thief has come close enough to your house to trip the motion detector a little bit of light won't turn him away, guaranteed.

You best bet is LED lighting that cost next to nothing to run all night. If you were a thief and you were casing houses at night, which would you choose, the house that's unlit, with the possibility of motion detectors, or one that's all lit up all night?

I thought so.

[Inkarnata]

2 small dogs (Shelties), 1 Medium (Young Aussie), all very good noise alerters..

1 DSC Alexor Central Station monitored alarm system (approx $700, installed by me..wireless it's simple)

1 Curmudgeonly grumpy, light sleeping Marine with a 12ga....